Whanganui

Whanganui is a port city on the west coast of New Zealand’s north island and, more importantly, a river city: it is built on the banks of Te Awa o Whanganui - the Whanganui River, the longest navigable river in Zealand, stretching from the coast to Mt Tongariro. ‘Te Awa O Whanganui – Kō au te Āwa, kō te Āwa kō au. I am the river, the river is me’ – this was one theme of the interviews we did in Whanganui over a week in February 2015, for an oral history project funded by the Whanganui District Library. The full interviews are archived at the Whanganui Library; extracts can be heard here.